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When you admire the gorgeous rugs, home
and fashion accessories from designer
Angela Adams you’d
be correct in imagining they arrived from a world all their
own. Adams,
who grew
up on a remote island twelve miles off the coast of Maine,
now lives
and works in Portland and is still happily removed from big
city hustle
and bustle. Recently we chatted with her about life and
love on the coast.
Check out our brand-new angela
boutique to view her entire range of products.
How did you start designing rugs?
In college I painted patterns on furniture and walls and over time had
accumulated a big stack of painted patterns in various scales and color
combinations. I knew that I wanted to eventually have the patterns made
into a product, but wasn't sure which direction I would go... fabrics,
wallpapers, apparel, etc. I stumbled onto hand-tufted rugs one day while
meeting with a designer and was immediately attracted to the textures and
rich colors. A year later I showed my first collection of rugs and from
there it started to take on a life of its own. About a year after that
first show, I began to get frustrated with the lack of control I had over
quality and lead times and was anxious to experiment with the medium to
see what we could do to take it to a new level. My husband Sherwood Hamill
and I decided to set up our own production facility on the first floor
of our studios and started making the rugs in-house. Not having a textile
background made this a very exciting process and kept us from feeling limited
by traditional methods. Having production in-house also raised the level
of quality and service we could offer our clients and it gave us a great
testing ground for new ideas and techniques.
What inspired your latest collection?
Our latest collection is the new Couture line, actually inspired by our
wedding in February. Sherwood and I finally made it official after living
in sin for eleven years! To celebrate, I designed a rug named The
Wedding. It’s made up of little icons of things that are meaningful
to us, like butterflies (a symbol of my grandmother), a helicopter (Sherwood’s
a pilot), our house, ski tracks, little things like that… We also
had tiny Swarovski crystals sewn into it so it would make our dining room
all sparkly when hung on the wall. After making that rug, we decided to
offer this level of customization to all our clients. Fred Flare could
select all of his favorite things – like harmonicas, the color pink,
rainbows, etc – and we could make a rug from that!!!
Wow, so you recently tied the knot! What was
that like?
We had the most perfect wedding. Over dinner one Monday night at Norms,
our favorite restaurant in Portland, we decided to get married. We wanted
the ceremony to be super private and special so we didn’t tell anyone.
I knew my Mum was to come down from the island in two days so we invited
her and Sherwood’s Mum over for dinner that Wednesday. Our good friend
Jay, who is a notary public, also came by. We all had martinis and then
told them we were getting married. They smiled and said "Oh great,
when?" We said, "Right now!" and we got married right there
at home with our Mum, the kitties and Jay. Then we feasted on scallops
that my Uncle caught, ate cake and drank champagne. The next day I had
a photo shoot and secretly kept tucking outside into the snow to call all
my family members. Sherwood did the same. That afternoon we called a company-wide
meeting, which made everyone very nervous, and announced that we got married.
The whole staff hooted and hollered! Then we pulled out a bunch of lobster
and champagne and celebrated. It was great fun! We plan to keep celebrating
for about 30 more years.
That does sound like great fun! What else do
you for fun up there in Maine?
I love hanging at home with my furry little family, being with my nieces
and nephews and long bike rides on old Maine roads. I love cooking up tasty
meals at home, eating lobsters on the beach, tooling around in the boat,
eating wild raspberry pie, swimming in the ocean, watching the sunset with
my Mum, poking around New York City... I can think of a thousand things
I love to do for fun.
We love poking around New York City too! What
are your fave places?
That's tricky because I love NYC and there are so many great places! We
tend to do a lot of trade shows at the Javits Center, which isn't my favorite
place by any means but there’s a great back deck. At the end of the
day my husband and I go sit up there and watch the helicopters and boats.
It’s like being in a Richard Scary book. I also love Nolita and all
of the little shops down there. The meatpacking district is fun and there’s
a great Cuban restaurant that we love called San Cubano. We also love the
tuna pizza at the Mercer Kitchen! And I love Central Park in the springtime.
Who would you love to do a project with?
I would have loved to make a movie with Alfred Hitchcock. But today...
maybe Ellsworth Kelly?
What's your secret occupational fantasy?
I could easily become a crazy cat lady. Maybe a kitten foster parent.
We love crazy cat ladies! How many cats do you have?
We live with three cats. One I've had since I was 19. Her name is Pooky and
she's a glamorous tortoise shell. We have a five-year-old grey tiger beauty
named after my grandfather Argyle. He's so gorgeous he casts a spell on
you! But he's tricky and mangles people he doesn’t feel comfortable
around. Scooter is the baby of the family and he manages to turn every
activity into a game. He and Sherwood gaze into each others eyes all the
time.
08/2003 |
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